User Reviews

The beer pours a reddish-amber color with a white head. The aroma is full of toffee and rum, with some caramel and yeast notes thrown in. There is also a little bandaid character in the aroma. The flavor unfortunately has more bandaid character. There is also some malt note - mainly caramel and toffee - as well as some Belgian yeast notes. I don't get any real rum or oak notes, which is disappointing. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

The name on the label is "Flyin' Monks" (NOT "Flying' Monk" as currently listed). See also: http://adelbertsbeer.com/our-beers/ Reviewed as a quadrupel because it identifies as such on the label. "Ale fermented with oak rum chips. Bottle conditioned." 9% ABV according to my bottle. Batch No 003. Bottled on 4/9/2013. "Serve at 55-70 degrees" into a snifter.

1 pint 9.4 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard Adelbert's label and hood-and-wire cap (aka cage) over a branded cork acquired at me local HEB Grocery and served into an Independence Brewing pilsner glass in me gaff in low altitude Austin, Texas. Reviewed live. Expectations are average; their dubbel was subpar and quadrupels are one of my top 3 styles so I'm suspicious.

Served cold - straight from me fridge - and allowed to warm during the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: No bubble show forms as I pour - nor should one in a beer of this style.

Pours a 1.5 finger wide head of light khaki colour. Poor creaminess and thickness; it's disappointingly thin. Not much frothiness either. No lacing at all as the head recedes. Head retention is average - about 2 minutes - which isn't bad for 9%. Overall, it's a pretty poor head compared to those of the best beers in the style.

Body colour is a nontransparent translucent dark auburn of below average vibrance but nice rich texture. No yeast particles are visible. It's not as dark as most (and as the best) beers in the style, but I'm optimistic.

Overall, it's generally appealing but not unique or special. There are no obvious flaws.

Sm: Has a rich rum character atypical of the style, yet intriguing. Sugarcane is abundant. I also get plums, dates, raisin, and caramel. No fig or prunes. Unfortunately, the rum character also lends it an unpleasant obvious booziness; it's not a hot aroma per se but the booze is distracting and unnecessary. I look for oak but don't find it. Belgian malts: pale, amber, biscuit, maybe brown. A dash of chocolate malt, maybe. A kiss of molasses. Has a bit of a dark fruit syrup note that I'm definitely not on board with.

Boozy rum is dominant to its detriment.

No yeast character or hop character is detectable, though I assume Belgian yeast was used.

This isn't the delicate dark fruit aroma of the best beers in the style, nor does its scent suggest particular subtlety, complexity, or nuance. But I'm intrigued by the rum notes and I'm looking forward to seeing how the flavour profile is.

A largely inoffensive aroma of moderate strength. More aggressive than the best quads.

T: Sugarcane/rum and accompanying booziness overwhelm the flavour profile, ruining any balance or delicacy and reducing drinkability. I don't get any oak either, so it seems the rum oak chip gimmick was a poor play. I do get a hint of pecan, which is interesting. Body is comprised of Belgian malts, including amber, biscuit, and a bit of the pale variety. Buried raisin. Sugarplum. Dates. Caramel. As aforementioned, the balance is poor - but it does have some cohesion, though it's definitely not gestalt. Has some complexity, but no subtlety, nuance, or delicacy. On the sweeter side. Quite a mess, but not a trainwreck. If we disregard style, it's a decent little beer - sort of a misguided strong ale. I like the pecan and the rum, I just wish it didn't have to be so boozy. And where's the oak?

Depth of flavour is painfully shallow. Intensity of flavour is above average; it's overwhelming and overbearing, lacking subtlety. Duration of flavour is average.

No yeast character or hop character comes through.

Mf: Smooth and wet. It's got a full body and an obvious thickness, which isn't ideal for the style - the best quads are delicate and shockingly light. Okay presence on the palate. Boozy and unrefreshing. Texture suits the flavour profile only in a general sense; this is not custom-tailored to the taste.

Not oily, gushed, syrupy, or astringent.

Dr: The booziness does limit drinkability, and the quality isn't high enough to make me crave each sip. I applaud the experimentation with rum soaked oak chips, but this really misses the mark inasmuch as quads are concerned. Disregarding style, it's a passable but still disappointing beer. Adelbert's is not impressing me with their Belgians, especially these weak attempts at abbey beers. I wouldn't bother with it again, nor would I recommend it to friends or trade partners. Drinkability is below average, as is the beer. The booziness increases as it warms, making it more and more unpleasant.

Priced highly.

Light aging (a year or two) might benefit it slightly, but I wouldn't waste the cellar space.

Thanks to the SWMBO for this one. I enjoyed this during a walk around the garden after dinner.

Pours a dark red/brown with a decent 1 inch head. More the color of a dubbel than a quad in my opinion.

Smells of sweet malt, some faint phenols. A bit of CO2 burn, so carbonation is on track. Otherwise nondescript.

Taste. If this was a performance evaluation the beer would get a satisfactory. Comes on sweet and finishes with appropriate carbonation and bitterness. The grain bill could use a bit of depth/character.

This beer is completely devoid of yeast character. The phenols may just be melding with the bitterness. However, there are no fermentation flaws that so many 'merican breweries like to call Belgian. No bandaid or nail polish and I thank them for that! I humbly suggest the brewer lower the pitching rate to squeeze a bit more from the yeast. Perhaps a shorter and wider tank, I am not sure what geometry they are using.

I read more of the label after some tasting. I do not perceive any oak or rum.

Mouthfeel is right on point. Sweet flavor but not thick, a nice medium body. Carbonation is appropriate, not to high not to low.

Overall a solid example from a brewcraft point of view. A darker candi syrup and an adjusted pitching rate and this one could take off.

A: Pours a dark, murky brown with a smallish very light brown head. Head is thin and foamy and dissipates pretty quickly. Almost no lacing, just little spots here and there. Despite the quickly faded head, it does revive quite easily and heavily with a little swirl.

S: Very malty with loads of sweet caramel, brown sugar and dark fruits. Raisin is prominent with some fig. Light oak character too.

T: Big and sharp flavors. Up front there is some big oak with lots of dark fruits. Strong caramel from start to finish. Sweetness fades a bit and you get more a dried fruit flavor with some strong oak presence. Very drying in the aftertaste with lots and lots of lingering pure oak and sudden belgian yeast spiciness. Flavors overall are quite strong, sharp and boozy. Beer tastes a little "too" fresh if I'm honest. Which is a little strange since the bottle is already over a year old.

M: Heavy, thick but not syrupy. Lower carbonation.

O: Not a bad quad but I feel like it may have been on oak cubes for a little too long. Oakiness is a bit harsh and pervasive through the whole beer, but especially in the finish and lingering aftertaste. Beer is harsh in general and nothing about it really stands out in a pleasant way. It feels like it had potential but it just wasn't executed well. Rough to drink and I can barely choke it down.

A: Dark brown but not thick, transparent ruby-red when held up to the light. Started out with a semi-vigorous light tan head that dissipated pretty quickly and left decent lacing.
S: Classic quad; Belgian esters up front, with some malty backbone and a bit of alcohol bite. There are some dark grapes or raisins in the nose too.
T: Has a little kick up front, with the “standard” quad flavor following. The rum is very, very light, as is the oak flavor – I would like both to be more pronounced.
M: Tingly, zing, with tiny carbonation and an overall smoothness to the body
D: Not the easiest drink ever, but it goes down pretty easily for a 10%+ beer.

This quad pours out a dark earthy brown with hues of red and copper, it’s filled with lots of carbonation and is topped off with a nice thick bubbly head that thins out rather quickly. There’s some good lacing going on too. Banana bread, mild ethanol and dark fruits first hit your nose, figs, cherry, apple and grapes comes next, and there is a slight citrus aroma to it as well. The taste is ok, there are some spices that come through nicely , dark fruits really do hit your tongue, and the banana bread flavor is also present. It is sharp and crisp at first and then mellows out as it warms. Caramel is present throughout the tasting and it dries up just a bit- I would definitely age this ale the next I buy it. It is a bit on the light side for a quad and it seems too fresh or carbonated for a quad too. Overall not bad it goes down well and does taste pretty good-but I will age it next time.

Everything about this beer is not quite right. The color is ruby, but more like a Dubbel than a Quad. The head is thin and fizzy, more like a soft drink head and disappears almost as fast.

The nose is full of good dark fruits and the taste is the same. It is a very good beer that I enjoyed, but to style it is off a bit. The mouthfeel is a little thin, likely due to the carbonation being a miss on style.

Again, an enjoyable beer with some great flavor to it and some pepperiness I am now feeling on the finish, but this isn't a true Quad.

This was a lot better than I thought it would be. I had some at a craft brewers' festival and found it offensive. But at that time, it was labeled as a Belgian strong dark ale. So maybe this batch was different. It was lighter in colour and flavour than I'd remembered. The smell was very strongly of sour grapes. I thought the flavour profile was very fruity as well, but not as sour or grape-specific as the smell. The mouthfeel was light for a quad and it wasn't as complex as you'd expect for something aged in oak, but it was still very good. Lots of fruit/ester complexity. Not very dark, though. Batch on this bottle was 001. Bottled 2/6/12

Taste: Opens with sweet, spicy alcohol, dark fruit, and caramel. As the taste progresses, bitter apple and plum notes appear. The alcohol is intensely, pleasantly warming, and its spicy undercurrent carries throughout the taste. As the taste draws to a close, some slightly earthy notes appear. Finishes with a lingering spicy presence. The presence of oak is very subtle, and perhaps merely a phantasm of my imagination.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, very pleasant, with a mild effervescence.

Drinkability/notes: A complex, over-the-top quadrupel, and a tribute to the skills of Adelbert's. It compares very well with Belgian-brewed examples of the style.

Presentation: Packaged in a twenty-five point four ounce Belgian-style bomber with a cork and cage, served in a New Belgium Brewing chalice.

750 mL bottle purchased from Specs in Austin. Unlike most corked and caged bottles, you gotta turn this thing at least 8 or 9 times to get the thing open. Bottled on 4/9/2013. Poured in a New Belgium globe.

A - deep opaque copper with three fingers of light brown head that never quite goes away. But where's the sticky lacing I'm use to?

S - you gotta let this baby warm up a little before the smell becomes present. Rum, molasses, and a lot of alcohol on the tale end.

T/M - molasses, peppers, herbal, and dark fruits with a warming alcohol finish. But at 10.9%, it hides the alcohol well. Nice chewy body, although it looses carbonation a bit quickly. This is good stuff!

O - pretty damn good brew! I definitely need to make a trip to the brewery and try some more from the local dudes.

750ml corked, caged and born in Texas. God approves whether you're blue or red! It pours darker than I would expect for the style, sort of a milk chocolate brown with a micro bubbly off white tan head that makes me feel like I'm flying about 5,000 feet over my beer. I am the God of beer world, bow before me tiny bubbles!!! The smell is carob, oranges, and cinnamon. Taste is oranges, cloves, and a slightly dusty finish. I'm not sure if that sounds good but it tastes good. The aftertaste is where that carob shows back up, really makes you want another sip. Mouthfeel is soft with those tiny bubbles making their tiny presence known in no uncertain terms. Overall, I like this one a lot. It is a bit darker and....there's that dusty word again...than the style would lead you to believe but the beer doesn't lead you in the wrong direction by any stretch of the imagination. Get this one. Well, get another one. This one is mine.

Bottled on 12/10/2013
Appearance:
Medium khaki colored head which fades away rather quickly, minimal head retention most likely due to its high alcohol content. Dark chocolate brown color body.
Nose:
Amazing! Chocolate, maple, sugary, caramel, toasted malt and nutty notes come through strong and weave in and out as well as come forth at different points during the pint.
Palate:
I was initially hit with a complex and distinguished array of flavors that burst forth. As you take a drink, the ABV lets you know it’s there, not by taste but by a delightful warming sensation that is welcomed as you sift through the flavors. I noted: Fruits, apricots, plums, roasted coffee and chicory. It has a huge full bodied mouthfeel and a slight bitter finish that turns into a rich sugary-sweetness that lingers for some time.
Overall:
I’m writing this on a cold, blustery night and I had opened this bottled after a long day of being outside in the cold. Once I popped the cork from this bottle I couldn’t be happier with my selection for the evening. This beer definitely needs to be tried and is easily the best quadruple I have ever had the good fortune to drink.